Bonus Session
This is a bonus session from the Hedge School at Irishroots.com
Season Two of the Hello Fada show is upcoming, but until I
finish a few projects, we have to be patient ! Renata is well and
teaching several classes at the Irish Museum, be sure to drop by
and say hello if you are in the area.

Ogham Studies
We speak today with Christopher Conway, who had the pleasure
of studying Ogham as a part of his education in Ireland. He also
has a company based upon ‘Ogham’, called OghamArt. Their web
page is at: www.oghamart.com
They can be contacted on Twitter and Facebook. Chris offers
a 10% discount for IrishRoots.com listeners, using the code of:
IRC2011 until the end of the year.

Origins
Ogham is the first alphabet known to be used by the Irish. It is
often given of Irish ‘origin’, and seems to be centered in
Southwest Ireland. There are reports of its first usage in the
old territory of the Falveys and O’Sheas in County Kerry, but that
is before my time….
Well, it seems Ogham was around at the coming of St. Patrick,
and some say much earlier. It started to decline with the advance
of the Vikings into Ireland. This distinctive alphabet is easily
recognized, as it is made up of simple lines, (sometimes you will
see dots used as well.).

Etruscan Roots ?
There are some common traits with Etruscan and even with Runes,
but no one has established its origins. ( Ogham and Runes are
two different different alphabets.)

The Roman alphabet of course is the one we are familiar with today.
Thanks to some ‘Rosetta Stones’, giving Ogham side by side with
another language, we have been able to interpret the ‘letters’ of this
alphabet.
As with any unknown, there are many hotly contested theories
about Ogham, so it is an interesting field to explore. Our thanks
to Chris for his informative interview, and be sure to think of him
when it comes time to get that Ogham gift or wall hanging !

Listen to Mondays podcast to hear the rest of the story…..

Stay tuned for the next season of ‘Hello Fada”.

…….So end the notes from the Irish Hedge Row today.
You can see the entire series at www.Irishroots.com.
Advertisers and sponsors welcome of course !
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The Hedge School has 7 Broadcast series, including :

The History of Ireland
Irish in America
Irish Video Shorts
Irish Song and recitation
Irish Family History and genealogy
Irish Family History photo enhanced with links.

Renata Henley, session leader
Renata began her Irish Language studies at the
University of Berkeley, California. She then went
on to University College in Dublin, Ireland, earning
a post graduate degree.
One of the few who have lived in the Gaeltacht,
speaking only in Irish, we are honored to have her
as a session leader.
She currently teaches classes in Irish, and offers
translation/voice over services on a per item basis.

Poor Scholar
Mike O’Laughlin is the founder of the hedge school,
and is a leading author and publisher of Irish Books,
Broadcasts and newsletters.
He also hosts the worlds first Irish Family History
Podcast, which he began in 2006.